The Big Picture

Jane Mayer, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right/The New Yorker Magazine joins Thom. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - I'm talking to Jane Mayer - who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1995 and is the author of three bestselling books. She’s also been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship - the John Chancellor Award - the George Polk Award - the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting - and the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence. Her latest book is "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.

Jane Mayer, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right/The New Yorker Magazine joins Thom. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - I'm talking to Jane Mayer - who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1995 and is the author of three bestselling books. She’s also been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship - the John Chancellor Award - the George Polk Award - the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting - and the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence. Her latest book is "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.

Jane Mayer, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right/The New Yorker Magazine joins Thom. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds - I'm talking to Jane Mayer - who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1995 and is the author of three bestselling books. She’s also been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship - the John Chancellor Award - the George Polk Award - the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting - and the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence. Her latest book is "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.

In tonight’s special hour-long Conversations with Great Minds Thom discusses how the Koch brothers have hijacked our democracy with The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, author of the new book “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.”

Bill Press, Buyer's Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down/The Bill Press Show joins Thom. Based on his campaign promises - many progressives thought President Obama would usher in a new golden age of liberalism upon taking office. But 7 years later - that obviously hasn't happened. So what went wrong? I'll ask renowned radio host and columnist Bill Press in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds

Gianno Caldwell, Caldwell Strategic Consulting & Rodell Mollineau, Rokk Solutions & Bryan Pruitt, RedState joins Thom. Donald Trump told CNN yesterday that he might not take part in Thursdays Republican president debate if Megyn Kelly is the moderator. If he doesn't attend - will it hurt Fox more or Trump more? If he can get away with shooting someone without losing a vote - why does he need to debate at all?

Bill Press, Buyer's Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down/The Bill Press Show joins Thom. Based on his campaign promises - many progressives thought President Obama would usher in a new golden age of liberalism upon taking office. But 7 years later - that obviously hasn't happened. So what went wrong? I'll ask renowned radio host and columnist Bill Press in tonight's Conversations with Great Minds

Gianno Caldwell, Caldwell Strategic Consulting & Rodell Mollineau, Rokk Solutions & Bryan Pruitt, RedState joins Thom. CNN hosted a town hall meeting last night for the Democratic candidates with just one week to go before the Iowa caucuses. Hillary Clinton made the case that she has the best experience to lead the country. But Bernie Sanders wants to know - is experience more important than judgment?

Tonight’s Politics Panel dissects last night’s Democratic Town Hall, whether Trump will boycott the next debate because of Megyn Kelly, and Noam Chomsky’s thoughts about the Republican Party. In tonight’s Conversations with Great Minds Thom discusses Obama’s presidency with radio host Bill Press, author of the new book “Buyer's Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down.”

Chuck Rocha, Solidarity Strategies & Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange/CODEPINK/Drone Warfare, joins Thom. So - Is Bernie right - would he win in a match-up against two multibillionaires? And who could really get excited about a presidential campaign for another New York billionaire whose name is synonymous with Wall Street and big business in America? The Billionaires just don’t get it.

Like an alcoholic family that won't discuss alcoholism (and proving Don Quixote's warning to never mention rope in the home of a man who's been hanged), far too many Americans are unwilling to acknowledge or even discuss the ongoing collapse of democracy in the United States.